Taste of the Town: Home at The Range

Under new owners, restaurant boasts new name, menu

Smoked brisket tacos and tempura fried zucchini at The Range, previously known as Open Range. The Range has new owners and a new menu and is located at 35 N. Water St. in Batavia.

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(Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

The Boss Burger at The Range, previously known as Open Range. The Range has new owners and a new menu and is located at 35 N. Water St. in Batavia.

Caption

(Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

The Range, previously known as Open Range, has new owners and a new menu. The Range is located at 35 N. Water St. in Batavia.

Caption

(Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

The Range, previously known as Open Range, has new owners and a new menu. The Range is located at 35 N. Water St. in Batavia.

By ERIC SCHELKOPF - eschelkopf@shawmedia.cm

BATAVIA – Even though Open Range in Batavia now has a new name, its new management said that regular customers should still expect great food and service.

Open Range American Grill, located at 35 N. Water St. in downtown Batavia, in May changed its name to The Range Grill & Tap to reflect a change in ownership. The restaurant had previously been connected to Open Range Southwest Grill, which still operates a restaurant in Sugar Grove.

“I wanted it to be mine,” said Jeremy Bertrand of North Aurora, the restaurant’s new co-owner and manager. The restaurant’s co-owner is Rob Piton, who was involved in the restaurant when it was known as Open Range and prior to that, Lodge on the Fox.

This is Bertrand’s first venture into the restaurant business.

“It’s a great opportunity to use what I know,” he said.

Bertrand already has expanded the restaurant’s menu, adding items such as a New York strip filet mignon.

“I wanted to give people more options,” he said.

Bertrand also has added live entertainment at the restaurant.

“I want to have live entertainment every once in a while to spice things up,” he said.

The Range also has undergone some physical changes, including the installation of garage doors that separate the restaurant’s screened porch from its main dining room, which will help the restaurant better accommodate private parties, Bertrand said.

Those customers who dined at the restaurant when it was known as Open Range American Grill might be familiar with the restaurant’s chef, who now works at The Range.

“I got lucky and inherited him,” Bertrand said.

The restaurant’s popular fresh prime burgers served with a variety of toppings are a carry over from the previous menu.

“The chef does a phenomenal job with the burgers,” Bertrand said. Bertrand’s favorite burger is The Honky Tonk, which is a fresh prime Angus beef patty topped with a fried egg, cheese sauce, onion strings, and Applewood smoked bacon on a toasted brioche bun.

“It is definitely a meal,” Bertrand said. “You should get your fill. Any of the burgers are unbelievably great.”

The Range prides itself on its freshness.

“The burgers are never frozen,” Bertrand said. “They are always fresh. We make sure we get new orders every week so we don’t have to freeze anything.”

The restaurant also makes its own tortilla chips and smokes its own meat for such entrees as its smoked brisket tacos.

“It has a unique flavor,” he said.

Other items include ribs, Texas beef brisket, Maryland crab cakes and stone fired pizza. The Range also does catering.

Bertrand said he always is open to suggestions from customers.

“I want them to feel comfortable in here,” he said. “I love listening to my customers. I want their experience to be the best experience possible.”

The Range, 35 N. Water St., is open from 4 to 11 p.m. Mondays, 11:30 a.m. to midnight Tuesdays through Thursdays, 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sundays.

For information, call 630-761-0145 or visit The Range’s Facebook page.